Another new lathe owner!

RustyCanuck

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Dundas Ontario
Here’s some shots of our new lathe, had it in the shop for a week before I had to time get together with my neighbour who we got it from to come down and get it leveled.
With the help of my two teenage sons we got it out of the basement on a dolly where it had been for the last 40 years and down the road to my shop which thankfully is at ground level. The machine itself was a bit of a chore but the table it sits on was another story, very heavy and a real bear to get up the stairs. We did get it all out and in my place in one afternoon, by then I was pretty much done with it and left it sit for a few days while I regrouped!
So far I’ve just been trying sort out all the tooling and extras that came with it and get them into like piles, there’s a lot here and I’m not even sure what some of it is:)
I did get the Sparey book in the other day and am spending time in the shop with book in hand to get a general sense of what I can do and how to do it.
For all that offered words of encouragement and advice in the previous thread I thank you and will be back with many questions I’m sure.
Already have a few little projects in mind to get me started, but in the meantime here’s some pics.
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Nice!

You done well!

I'll suggest once again, look out for copies of the Workshop Practice Series books Work Holding in the Lathe and, since you have the vertical slide, Milling in the Lathe, both written by Tubal Cain aka T.D. Walshaw.

I am not a fan of those 4 way tool posts, as I always found that I ended up slashing the back of my right hand on the tools that were mounted in the 'other' positions, while getting in to measure, etc. The tool post will do, but a Quick Change Tool Post of about any style, will make you wonder why they don't come as standard.

Have fun!

Cheers
Trev
 
I can see what you mean about cutting yourself on the tools in the holder, I'll keep that in mind for sure. There are a couple of single tool holders with "T" nuts in the bottom as well, is that what you mean by a quick change holder?

"I'm sure the safety guys will have something to say about the toes in the picture "

Although I am a committed shoeless guy whenever possible I do have a rack of work clothes and boots in my shop for anything that requires it. I have safety glasses hanging off the power switch now and am making a point of wearing them whenever I'm at the machine.
 
No, I was on another thread about this earlier. This has been a long standing deal with my neighbour that when he was ready to sell I'd get first chance. Got it for a great price, he knows what it's all worth but was happy to pass it on to us knowing it would be close by and well taken care of. Plus, I can knock on his door with any questions I may have.
He built model trains with it, we have an agreement that anytime needs the use of it , he's free to come down.
 
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Nice, a Myford like that was the first lathe I ever used when I was 8yrs old, cute little machines.
They're indeed used a fair bit by model train/steam engine guys.
 
I don't know what you paid for the whole package but you are VERY nicely set up there. You're well on your way to avoiding the cost of all the stuff that is needed to go with the lathe.

As it happens I've got that exact same Starret test indicator kit.

A couple of hints based on the pictures.

Taps, metal files, drill bits and other cutting tools deserve to be treated better than just dumped in a box and rattle around on each other. Take some time and use some wood to make up tool indexing blocks that hold these cutting tools apart. For files it may be just a thin board of plywood with dowel pins to act as racks. For drills and taps of course just holes to take the shanks are fine. Keep them loose though.

The same thing goes for the slitting saws on the arbors I see. The edges won't stay keenly sharp if they are rolling around in the grit in the boxes and dinging into other tooling. Take the saw blades off the arbors and put them away in small paper envelopes with the sizes marked on them. Even better is to fold up some simple "U" shaped covers from file folder card stock and fit them into a little box with one flap of the folded cover sticking up to form "tabs" that have the sizes on them sticking up so you can find the right size blade quickly. If you only have a couple then fill most of the box with a block of wood or whatever for now. You now have a "saw index" instead of a file card index.

You see where this is going, right? We pay a lot of cash for these cutting tools. And many of them are not cheap or easy to sharpen. So it's well worth a bit of time to try to keep them from needless damage.

I know I positively cringe when I see metal files loose in a box rubbing against each other. A good file can do wondrous work and do it with surprisingly little effort. But a file dulled by rubbing against its brothers is a sad thing that removes little and insults the skills of the craftsmen that made them. The old school masters would kick any apprentice around the shop and back if they were stupid enough to store files so they rubbed together.

From my brief time with my own Myford I found that the only carbide tools it would tolerate without chattering were the positive rake tools. The negative rake tools require a LOT more pressure to plow instead of cut the metal. And the lighter makeup of the Myford just didn't tolerate that. So learn what works and avoid the rest regardless of frequent suggestions that such tooling is wonderful stuff. You'll figure it out soon enough. I actually got my best results and the lathe was far less stressed when using HSS cutting bits that I touched up frequently to keep the edges keenly sharp.

I know you want to make chips right away so I'll echo a tip which I'm sure is also in the books but which you might not have reached yet.

Keep your unsupported stock length short. You never want to work with a piece which sticks out in open air which is much longer than 4 diameters. And sticking with closer to a maximum of 3 diameters is better. Square stock is SLIGHTLY more tolerant so ideally no more than 4 to 5 widths. Here again less is better. Even then risky extension lengths of this sort will soon teach you about the importance of a "spring cut" and introduce you to the "nails on the blackboard" wonder of chatter in some cases. When you're working in terms of thousandths or even parts of a thou it's surprising just how limp and floppy steel, brass and aluminium really is within that context. The only operation that this rule does not apply to is axially drilling with the drill bit in the tail stock.

Did you get a tail stock die holder among the tooling? If not then that's a great first project once you figure out just how to make chips. You can do a lot of "close enough" threading operations on your parts with a nice easy to use tail stock die holder. Google and You Tube it. Lots of information, pictures and videos to be had with the terms "tail stock die holder".

This one was made on my own Myford back when I had it. The first pic shows the 1/2 inch guide rod in the drill chuck and the holder apart. The second picture is the holder being used to thread that bit of scrap rod seen in the chuck of the first picture. The holder slides freely but with very little play on the guide rod so the thread is mostly held close to axial and centered. It's not good enough for something like threading the end of a barrel but it's better than needed for most applications that don't require dead on centering.

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I'm sure the safety guys will have something to say about the toes in the picture
Nice lathe and have fun with it.
Rob

Once he gets a few chips on that nice clean floor there won't be any more bare feet shots.... :d
 
I can see what you mean about cutting yourself on the tools in the holder, I'll keep that in mind for sure. There are a couple of single tool holders with "T" nuts in the bottom as well, is that what you mean by a quick change holder?

The Myford Dickson or Dixon tool post is a quick Change tool holder. The post stays on the machine, the holders that hold the cutting tools can be removed and swapped out in a second or two. Usually, the holders have a set screw that keeps the tool at the same center height when it is removed and replaced.

Take a look at ebay and you will see a variety available, in a variety of quality levels and price points.

I rather like the Tripan system myself, but got tired of waiting for one to come up for sale at a price I was willing to pay, so I made mine. FWIW, the Tripan 111 size, fits the Myford.

One of the fellas on the Practicalmachinist site has pretty nice reviews on the 40 position tool posts that are available on ebay. Chinese copies of a swiss Multifix post and holders, very expensive when buying the real thing, and hard as heck to make holders for. Like I say, the guy had good things to say about the clones.

Anyways, that's what a quick change tool post is about, more or less.

Cheers
Trev
 
There are a couple of single tool holders with "T" nuts in the bottom as well, is that what you mean by a quick change holder?

Post a picture and I'll sort you out as to what you have. Maybe. :)

You may have some tool holders that are meant to be mounted directly on the cross slide in the tee slots there. Quite common to fit a tool back there for parting off or similar repeat operations.

Oh yeah, in an effort to keep domestic harmony intact, scrounge up some shag rug, and get a set of slip on shoes to wear while at the lathe for each of you. Go from the lathe, over to where you enter the house, slip out of the shoes, shuffle across the shag carpet (it will grab any stray metal chips) and SWMBO will not have to get ugly on you over being stabbed by your chips tracked in the house.

A disposable section of rug in front of the lathe is almost as comfortable as a proper work mat, but harder to clean. Dispose when you gotta.

Cheers
Trev
 
That is a fantastic setup! I'm just getting mine set up and buying some tooling right now. Don't think I would ever get close to what you have there. Congrats!!!
Rodney
 
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